Cedar siding

[Kathy1]

I know cedar shavings are a no no, but what about a coop/shed that has cedar siding? Would that be ok?

 

[Chicken Woman]

Cedar siding should have aired out and should not bother the chickens. I built my coop out of cedar 8 months ago and my chickens are fine.

 

[Opa]

Cedar siding would be an excellent choice. Won't bother chickens and you don't have to paint it.

 

[Kathy1]

I have a chance to look at and possibly get one that is cedar sided and maybe have a cedar post inside, but it has been outside for maybe a year or so. So it should be fine?? aired out enough?

 

[glassparman]

I built mine from cedar siding, the type that is commonly bought at the hardware store for fencing. It does not bother the chickens because they can't eat it. They have never seemed to peck at it either.

Here is the link to my coup on this site.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=12278

Michael

 

[Buff Hooligans]

Ours has cedar siding too. We let it age many weeks before painting it gray to match our house.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593

 

[Kathy1]

Those are great pages and pics thank you for posting them. I was under the impression that cedar was bad for them to breathe in because of the vapors. What is the difference between shavings and siding?? Is it just aired out??

 

[Chicken Woman]

Shavings have the oil within them and they are in a sealed plastic bag so cannot air out at all. Those oils put off a vapor that is bad for our birds to breath. The birds are right down in them with their faces and scratching and breathing it in.

With cedar boards they have been out to the air and dried out.

My coop is cedar and does not have a cedar odor at all. Has not bothered my birds and looks great !!!!!
I didn't put my birds in it for 2 weeks of hot weather to make sure there wasn't a problem. i used cedar boards meant for fencing.

I did not make my perches or nesting boxes out of cedar. I used pine.